While Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori feels educational reform is a key policy for his Cabinet, new Education Minister Tadamori Oshima wants to establish an educational program to enhance children's social participation.
Recent heinous crimes committed by youths are "beyond our imagination," Oshima said, noting today's youth are increasingly becoming "lonely," with little sense of connection with society.
"We need to think of ways to include children in local community activities," Oshima, 53, said in an interview with The Japan Times.